POINTLESS WAR
by darkwater-reflection
Summary: In a war, no one wins. Both sides lose forces. Both sides have people who get killed. There is no victor, and victory never feels like it. But...what happens when Konoha Jounins and Chuunins wage war against the bit beast wielders of Bey Blade?
1. Chapter 1

**POINTLESS WAR**

A/N: This is sorta kinda based on sherbet mayhem's WAR story, except with a couple of tweaks here and there and, of course, the presence of the Naruto Ninjas. Much, much thanks to death-angel-hikari for the names of the bladers and bit beasts. I just can't remember them all…

Oh, just a warning: those who like a LOT (meaning 3 or more) of people in either Naruto or Beyblade, do **not **read this story. You will either end up in tears at the end of this story, or you will end up hating me for all eternity.

If you foolishly choose to ignore this warning, get ready with a big box of tissues.

You have been warned… 

Kidding. It's not **_that _**bad.

Disclaimer: So many authors have been doing this, I'm beginning to worry that I should do it too. I don't own Beyblade ('coz if I did, Lee, Rei's friend from Baifuzu, would never have existed) and I definitely don't own Naruto. (wish I did though.)

**Chapter 1: Ninjas?**

Tsunade's brow furrowed as she listened to the green-jacketed Jonin in front of her as he gave her a full report of what he and his companions had seen.

"We're not really sure what happened. We watched the people yelling at each other. They were on opposite sides of a deep pit in the floor."

"What was in the pit?" Tsunade asked, sitting up a little straighter. This seemed thoroughly suspicious.

"We couldn't see very well, Hokage-sama." he said, a note of apology and regret in his voice. "Like I said, whole crowds were gathered in seats around them, and a lot of them kept standing up to see a better view. It was like a Chuunin exam of sorts, except the players made no physical attack upon each other."

"I see. And then?"

The Jonin shuddered. "It was unlike anything I ever saw. The one with blonde hair suddenly screamed a strange name, and then…"

"Light." His partner cut in. "Bright, purple light rose from the depths of the pit. And a huge turtle rose out of it…"

"A _turtle?_" Tsunade interrupted incredulously. "From the pit? How large, exactly?"

He shook his head. "This office wouldn't be sufficient enough to contain it."

Her worry grew, but she merely nodded. "I see. Continue."

"This…beast let loose a ground shaking roar, and water seemed to swirl around it. Strange thing here, the opponent of the person who released the beast seemed undaunted from the sight. He, as well, cried out another strange name, then red light shone as well. Then, a giant, flaming red bird rose out. This bird itself seemed to be made of flames, forever burning, never dying."

"Never dying…" she murmured. "It could be a phoenix…"

"Hokage-sama?"

"A phoenix." She said, looking at him with her steely, rock solid gaze. "The bird well-connected with fire. It's a symbol of death and rebirth. But never mind that. What happened next?"

"The creatures began to battle. Water doused fire. Fire evaporated water. The people who released them told them exactly what to do. That's what disturbed us most, Hokage-sama."

"Hai." The other Jonin nodded. "These people were insignificant compared to the beasts, but they seemed to be in perfect control of the beasts. The beasts did exactly what they told them. Tsunade-sama, I fear that these people, as frail and insignificant as they seem, may be more powerful than we think. They could mean a serious threat to us if we should ever cross them."

"What are you saying?" Tsunade asked. "That we should fear them?"

"Not at all. In fact, I think we should offer to form a sort of alliance with them. Having them on our side will be quite advantageous."

"I see…" she said softly. It was, in fact, a good idea. There were sure to be other people like them. Perhaps a whole clan. It would be a good deal for Konoha to have them on their side. Quite a good deal…

"Thank you." she said, nodding her head. "You are dismissed."

They bowed and prepared to leave. Before they could go through the door, Tsunade stopped them with one question.

"Which village did this…battle take place?"

Brow furrowed, the man said; "I believe it was a place called Tokyo."

oOo

"Why are all the bladers gathering in one huge compound?" Tyson asked Kyouju, his good friend, who was lacking in the height department, but definitely made up for it in the intelligence department.

He shrugged, pushing his glasses up his nose in the process. He clutched his ever-present laptop in his arm as he cast a worried glance around him.

"I still don't think we can trust BEGA you, know," he said in a whisper. "especially since _Voltaire _is running it."

"Yeah, yeah," Tyson said distractedly. "Listen. Do you think there really is a supply of engine gears inside?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I heard them talking about it," Kyouju said impatiently. "But don't you see, Tyson? That's quite generous of Voltaire, and 'generous' and 'Voltaire' just never go together!"

"Aww, you exaggerate." Tyson said, brushing off his friends warning. "I'm sure he's just turned a new leaf over."

Kyouji looked at him. "Isn't that 'turned over a new leaf'?"

He shrugged. "Same difference."

"The point is, he used to be our biggest enemy! After all he did, you really think you can trust him?"

"In my opinion," Tyson said, "anyone who's willing to help in the upgrade of our beyblade and skills is definitely trustworthy!"

"Don't worry so much!" Max said, popping up from behind Tyson. "We've gotta trust some people, you know."

"Come on!" Tyson grinned at Max. "I'll race you inside."

Kyouju sighed and adjusted the strap of his knapsack as he watched his two friends dash off. He had a horrible feeling about this. He looked up to see the huge door leading to the compound. It was open, and already, bladers were streaming iside.

An image of a large beast with sharp teeth flashed in his mind. He saw all his friends screaming as the mouth closed, trapping them inside.

He shook his head.

_Get out._

oOo

Naruto jumped off the roof, glancing worriedly at the Hokage's tower. He was late for the meeting with the Hokage.

Really late.

Five minutes and 46 seconds late.

_Mental note to self, _he thought, running towards the tower, _buy an alarm clock._

Finally, 45 seconds later, the door to the Hokage's office slammed open, and a sweaty Naruto could be seen, panting and leaning on the doorframe.

"Gomen…Hokage-sama…I was…woke…up…"

"Late. I know." Tsunade said, a smile tugging at her lips. "I would have been extremely surprised if you came right on time."

Naruto looked around. He wasn't the only one in the room. There, sitting side-by-side, were his teammates, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura.

In the middle of the room were a few familiar faces as well. Hyuga Hinata, Hyuga Neji, TenTen, and Rock Lee.

In the farthest corner, looking detached from everyone else, were the two siblings from the Sand Village; Gaara and Temari.

Right next to the Hokage's desk were three green-jacketed nins. Asuma-sensei, Kurenai-sensei and Nara Shikamaru.

Naruto stepped in and took a seat next to Hinata, smiling at her as he did so. Her cheeks colored instantly.

"Incidentally," Tsunade said, looking pointedly at Naruto, "you're not the last one to arrive, Naruto."

"I-I'm not?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, you're not." She said, standing up. "Were still waiting for one more."

The door opened once more. Leaning against the doorframe in a totally relaxed manner was Hatake Kakashi. He was reading a small book, and he hardly seemed aware that he was late.

"Well," Tsunade said, walking around her desk and sitting on the edge. "now that were all here, I might as well cut to the chase and tell you your assignment."

"I'm sending all of you to go Tokyo to observe a few people who I believe will be powerful allies."

She said all this in one breath, and it hardly seemed to register to anyone in the room.

Blink, blink.

"Um, Tsunade-sama," Kurenai said, looking at her. "could you…repeat that? With a full explanation, please."

"Right," Tsunade said, grinning. "Sorry about that. Now, last week, I sent to Jounins to investigate a small village called Tokyo. They gave me a full report yesterday, and what I heard wasn't promising."

"In what way?" Sasuke asked, eyes slightly narrowed.

"Apparently, this 'village' is probably more advanced than we are. The people travel by taking," she checked her list. "cars."

"Cars?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow. What a weird word.

"They're metallic carts that can run without the aid of horses," Tsunade said. "if the description they gave me is correct. And it's probably bigger than this village. And the buildings are definitely taller."

Almost all the Chuunin's in the room looked impressed and awe-struck. The exception was Sasuke.

"The way I see it," he said bitterly, "that doesn't make it any more awesome than it makes it deadly."

Tsunade nodded. "I know. But what I'm more worried about are the reports of…unusual people."

"Unusual?"

"According to them, they look like ordinary people. Absolutely easy to overlook, in fact, but, they are probably more powerful than they seem. See, they can summon and control gigantic beasts. Bigger than this office, in fact. And they give off different colored chakra. Some have blue, others red, purple or even green."

"I've heard of blue, red and green chakra," Naruto whispered to Hinata, "but I've never heard of purple."

"Anyway, these beasts seem dangerous, seeing that there are actually phoenix's and dragons in the mix."

The whole group seemed wary now. "That does complicate things," Kakashi said, "but I'm sure it'll be smooth sailing once we for an alliance with them."

"I'm glad to know you immediately saw my purpose for sending you there," Tsunade inclined her head to him. "Well, you have my orders. You know you're mission. You'll leave tomorrow at 7:30. It'll take perhaps five or six days for you to reach Tokyo. Kurenai, Asuma, Kakashi, they are in your care. I hope you'll take your responsibility seriously."

On their nod, Tsunade nodded her head again. "You're dismissed. Tomorrow. City Gates. 7:30 sharp."

They all stood up and left. Tsunade watched them leave one by one. She felt a chill as the door closed. A sort of finality in the sound. Like…they were leaving for good.

She shrugged it off and went to do her paperwork.

A/N: Hmm…not so exiting yet, I guess. Um, I think it'll be better in the next chapter. The thing with this story is that you can't tell whom the protagonists and antagonists are.

I'll fix that.

Thank you! R&R! It makes me a happy camper.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I am really sleepy. It's currently 10 pm, and I'm still up. (Duh!)Well, anyway, sorry for the lack of excitement in the first chapter. I swear, it will get better in the chapters near to come.

Of course, this is your final chance to stop reading this story and save yourself from minutes of great sadness.

Yes, I'm exaggerating. All right, here's chapter 2…

Chapter 2: Uneasiness

Kai woke up with a start, as abruptly as if someone had yelled in his ear. He stayed like that, stiff as a log, eyes open wide, for a few seconds, then slowly turned on his side and consulted the digital alarm clock on his bedside table.

5:58.

_Damn nightmares, _he thought bitterly, sitting up and swinging his legs over the bed. Usually, he was used to waking up early, but the battle against Max had drained him considerably, and he was in no mood right now to be the early bird.

He put on his usual attire-plain tee shirt, cargo pants, red and black Chucks-and slowly slipped out of the door, trying not to wake his roommate. Max was easily knocked-out when it came to sleeping, but he woke up easily as well.

The boy had the hearing skills of a bloodhound.

Walking down the hall, he noted that it was kind of dark for 6, then realized that there were absolutely no windows in this place. The only sources of light came from the florescent lights on the ceiling and the lamps that stood in small, chiseled out crevices in the walls.

All in all, the place greatly resembled a prison.

Trying to remember whether this was the 4th or 5th floor, and whether or not this compound had, indeed, 12 floors, he eventually bumped into someone on his way to the stairs.

"I'm sor-_you!_" Kai immediately narrowed his eyes as his gaze met Voltaire's cold, steely one.

A small smile-actually, it was more of a smirk (the man was incapable of smiling normally)-crept onto his pale, haven't-seen-the-sun-in-ten-years face.

"Kai," he said, his tone delicate yet mocking, "you're up quite early, aren't you?"

"Maybe I am. What are you doing up here?" he asked, his eyes still narrowed. Despite his seemingly good intentions, he did not trust this man one bit.

"Only fulfilling my duty of caretaker and making sure all the children", his smile grew more mocking, "are comfortably safe in their beds. Now, if you'll excuse me…" he made his way past Kai and down the hallway, the shadows seemingly engulfing him.

Kai glared at the direction he had taken for a moment or two, then, swearing under his breath, made his way down the steps.

It was quite a long way down.

oOo

Naruto set down his backpack and sat down next to it. It was currently 7:32, and the three Jounins, who were supposed to be taking charge of the whole mission, were late.

Next to him, Hinata was absentmindedly twiddling her thumbs. Across from him was Sakura, who was fighting a losing battle to engage Sasuke into conversation.

Sitting down on the other side of him was Shikamaru, his hands laced behind his head and darkly muttering something that contained the words 'inconsiderate', 'not serious enough' and 'troublesome'.

Next to Hinata were Gaara and Temari, both looking so foreboding that Hinata tried her best not to look at them. Neji, Lee and TenTen were all standing and looking restless and bored.

Actually, it was only Neji. TenTen and Lee were engaged in an animated conversation about the possible meanings of purple chakra.

"Sorry were late!" a voice rang out. All Chuunins looked up to see Kakashi-sensei sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. Next to him, apparently unfazed, were Asuma and Kurenai. The two were whispering in low tones.

The Chuunins hurriedly scrambled to their feet. Kakashi placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder to stop him from walking right out the city gates.

"Before we leave," Kakashi said loudly, "Kurenai and Asuma have given me the unpleasant task of telling you the rules and guidelines. Firstly, we want all of you to stay near us at all times during the journey. Only exceptions to this rule are bathroom breaks and bathing."

"Secondly, should we encounter any…unfriendly ninja's along the way, we want you to follow every single thing we say. If we say, throw kunai not shuriken, you throw them. If we say forget the bunshin techniques and just hit them hard and fast, hard and fast it is."

"And if we say, run away and save yourselves, leaving us to rot and die, you run. Got it?"

"I got the first two examples," Naruto said slowly, "but I'm not sure I agree with the third."

The other Chuunins nodded in agreement.

"You'll have to," Kakashi said, "or else we'll not go at all. Thirdly, we want you to never, ever use your ninja techniques in 'Tokyo', unless we tell you to."

"Why not?" Naruto asked, brow furrowed.

"Ammendment to number two," Kakashi said loudly, "when we give you an order, you follow it. No questions asked. So, do we you guys promise to follow the rules? I know rules are made to be broken, but, trust me, you will be very sorry if you do. Do we have you word?"

"I…" Naruto trailed off.

"The thing is…" Sakura said softly, not so sure she like the sound of number two.

"We're not sure…" TenTen said, slightly nervous.

"Your word!" Kakashi said loudly. "Do we have it?"

"I…"

"Naruto?" Kakashi looked at him with those soft, gray eyes, and finally, he nodded.

"Yes."

This prompted the others to nod in a sort of defeated way.

"Good." Kakashi said cheerfully. "Now we can get going. It should take us only two days, three nights, but that is if we run. If you want, we could walk…"

"And get there by the end of the month." Kurenai supplied, giving him an annoyed look. "No way, Kakashi. We're running."

Kakashi shrugged. Under his breath, the Chuunins heard him mutter; "the leader had spoken."

oOo

Kai was seriously starting to get annoyed. The whole damn compound was like a maze. Sometimes stairways could only be accessed by opening a door, or by opening a door which led to a hallway which led to the stairs, or by opening a door which led to a hallway which led to several other doors…

You get the picture.

Anyway, Kai was trying to go down to the ground floor, but because of the doors, stairs, curves, turns, hallways, and other things, he had completely forgotten which floor he was.

The dimness of the atmosphere didn't exactly help things either.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit." He muttered under his breath, trying another door, only to see that it was locked.

"Okay," he said out loud. "That was the last door in this hallway. If it's not here, then it's probably in another hallway."

He was just to go out the door he had came in, when he stopped.

He just realized something important.

Something really important.

He forgot which door he had come through.

Hr groaned. There were over ten doors in this hallway. He didn't wan to check all of them again.

"It was this one, wasn't it?" A voice called. Kai snapped his head up and turned to the source.

There, standing and pointing in an annoyingly cute manner, was Max Mizuhara. He had a certain cutely puzzled and innocent look on his face, and Kai couldn't help it. The anger slipped away.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, folding his arms.

Max smiled his kitty-cat smile. "Following you. I want to get to the ground floor, too."

"Yeah, well," Kai looked ruefully at the door, "I'm not sure it's that one."

Max studied it for a moment, then nodded. "Yes it is."

"And…you know that…how?"

"When I came in after you, I noticed that there was a good two-inch scar on the door's carving." Max said cheerily. "When I realized that the other doors didn't have a scar, I realized I could probably use that knowledge if you ever got confused. And you did!" He finished happily.

Kai just nodded. Max was sometimes cute, but more often than not, he was annoying. He pushed past him and opened the door. Sure enough, it led to the previous hallway.

"Good observance skills." Kai muttered grudgingly.

Max beamed. "Thanks."

oOo

Kyouju looked up as the door swung open to reveal Kai and Max.

"There you guys are!" he exclaimed, shutting his laptop shut. "I was beginning to worry."

"How'd you get down here so fast?" Kai asked, walking over.

"Voltaire woke all of us up at around 6:30. Then, he made us form a line and led us down here."

"Oh," Max grinned and took a seat across from him, "I guess waking up early also has its disadvantages. Right, Kai?" He looked up at him, grinning.

Kai's face said it all.

Max's smile slid off his face, and turned back to Kyouju. "I don't think he liked that crack."

Kyouju shook his head. "You think?"

"They're finally here!" Tyson's voice rang out. The two turned to see Rei and Tyson waving at them from a small table. Kai and Max wandered over.

"Morning!" Max said cheerily. Kai merely grunted. Tyson hardly noticed. "Hurry up, guys. The food's fast disappearing. You don't want to train on an empty stomach, do you?"

Kai would have said that the contents of his stomach hardly made a difference, but Max beat him to it.

"You're right. C'mon Kai." Max grabbed his arm and dragged him to the buffet table.

"I-will-skin-you." Kai muttered through gritted teeth. It hardly bothered Max. "Could you do it after breakfast?" he asked, happily piling eggs on his platter. "I'm starved, and I wanna eat before I get skinned."

Kai shook his head. The boy was completely innocent.

After filling up their plates, they made their way back to the table.

"So," Rei said, taking a bite of a small roll. "Where were you guys? Voltaire checked you room and found out that you guys weren't in it."

"We were busy getting lost," Max said happily, beating Kai to the punch. "See, Kai woke me up early because he was groaning 'Hillary! No…Hillary!" in his sleep."

Kai choked on a particularly large piece of omelet.

"I tried to go back to sleep, but by that time, Kai had woken up. He slid out of bed and I knew he was going to go down and I didn't want to be alone in the room, so…I followed him."

Kai glared at Max, trying to tell him to shut up. Either Max was really that dense, or he just wanted to torture Kai. Whatever the reason, he continued on.

"Then, Kai started to get really confused with the setting of the place. He would have gotten lost, too, if I didn't point out which door we had to go through."

"Sweet!" Tyson whooped. "Even the great Kai Hiwatari can fail, too."

"But why were you groaning about Hillary in your sleep, Kai?" Rei asked.

Once again, Max beat him to the punch.

"I'm willing to bet that he had a bad dream where he couldn't save Hillary," he said cheerily, digging into a large amount of waffles, "because he want like, 'I tried to save her…I tried…she was just in my reach, and I swear I…"

Thud.

Crash!

"And next time," Kai said, standing up and brushing off his hands, "you'll have enough sense to keep what you hear to your self."

"Why is it dark so early today?" Max piped up from the floor. "And why are all of you spinning?"

oOo

"Stop!" Kurenai called, landing on a particularly large branch.

'Thuds', 'whomps', and 'ouch's' soon followed.

She turned around to see that all the Chuunins had hit each other in the process of landing and halting on the same branch.

"We'll take a quick 20-minute lunch break here," she said, as if she hardly noticed that her charges had become what very much resembled tossed salad.

After disentangling themselves from each other, they jumped to the ground and opened up their knapsacks.

In-between bites of _onigiri, _Kakashi described the rest of the journey to them.

"If we hurry, and take only a quick 10-minute break for a snack of sorts, we should be able to make camp in the far-east mountains by…"

Chomp. Chew, chew. Swallow.

"Two hours after sunset." He continued, "If we take no breaks at all, we'll arrive there earlier, of course. We'll hit the sack at exactly an hour after dinner, and…"

Chomp. Chew. Swallow.

"Begin traveling at twenty minutes before sun-up. That means, we'll be in the east territory by tomorrow evening."

The Chuunins nodded. Naruto began to feel quite excited. The 'east territory', had only been explored twice in the past ten years, and by Jounins only. To travel it was considered very dangerous, especially since bandits, thieves and other dirt bags were reported to reside there.

After digging in his bag for another _onigiri, _Kakashi continued. "If we follow that schedule, we'll be in Tokyo by the third evening."

Nod, nod, went the Chuunins.

Asuma, having consumed his lunch, lay back on the grass, plucked a blade of grass, and chewed on it, closing his eyes as he did so.

"Planning to sleep?" Kurenai asked, plucking the blade from in-between his lips.

"There's still five minutes left," he said, pretending to be annoyed, "a man can sleep where and when he wants to."

"And you, my friend," she shot back, "have just shown me how pig-headed and relaxed men can really be. Almost all of us are done. If we leave now, we'll get there earlier and have a little more time to rest, to be better prepared for the journey."

"And you, my friend," he said, imitating her voice, "have just shown me how bossy and stiff women can be."

"N-naruto-kun," Hinata whispered, re-packing her things, "is that normal?"

"Those two bickering?" Kakashi said, having overheard her, "yeah, it's normal. But don't worry, Hinata, those two secretly love each other. The more you hate, the more you love."

"The next time I hear you say that, Kakashi," Kurenai said loudly, "you'll regret you ever did."

"Yes, ma'am." he said, giving her a mock salute and causing Asuma to erupt into chortles.

"Let's move out!" she called, choosing to ignore the two Jounins behind her, although they could see the veins in her forehead bulge quite clearly.

"Hinata-chan," Naruto said later, as both of them were hopping from branch to branch, "is Kurenai-sensei always this bossy."

"Well…I wouldn't call her bossy," she whispered, "just…really take-charge."

"Yeah, right." Shikamaru snorted. He had overheard their conversation. "To be honest, I'm glad Asuma-sensei and Kakashi-sensei are here. We need some people to keep it light, you know."

"Yeah, but still…" Hinata bit her lip, "I guess she was raised that way. We can't blame her. Besides, at least we have someone here who can maintain order."

"I'd still rather have a flakey, funny instructor than a strict, uptight one."

oOo

"You sure you're alright, Max?" Rei asked worriedly. "I mean, Kai can plant a mean uppercut when he wants to."

Max smiled sheepishly. "I found that out already, but yeah, I'm alright. He didn't hit me that hard."

"Okay," Tyson checked to see if both were ready. "Let'r rip, guys!"

Both launched their blades into the stadium.

"Okay," Kyouju said, opening his laptop, "I'd like to see if the engine gear in Max's beyblade makes any difference. Since he's purely defense, we'll know if the engine gear can increase defense as well, or if it's only for attack."

After several moments, the results were clear. An engine gear gave a serious advantage to the beyblade that had it, regardless of its specialty.

Quickly, Max knocked Rei's Driger out for the count.

"Yes!" he said, pumping his fist into the air. "And Max Mizuhara emerges victorious!"

"All thanks to the engine gear installed in his beyblade and **_no thanks _**to his skills." Rei teased, picking up his beyblade.

The comment stung, but Max brushed it away. "Haha," he grinned, "someone's tweaked."

"Shut up and hand over one of those engine gears," Rei said, smiling as well. "The moment I install one in Driger, let's see who'll emerge victorious."

oOo

Voltaire watched the scenes play out, then he turned around to face the figure seated in the chair in front of his desk.

"As you see," he said, hitting the rewind button. He watched the scenes of Max and Rei's battle flash in front of him, then quickly hit the pause button to show Rei releasing Driger.

"These beasts are quite powerful," he smiled coyly, "I assure you that they'll be more than en even match for your 'ninjas'."

" 'My ninjas' as you say, are quite skilled," came the answer in a low voice, "and two of them posses beasts _inside _them."

Voltaire was momentarily shocked to know that bit beasts could reside in a human being, then he got over it.

"What are two possessed ninjas compared to over twenty beast wielders?" he asked.

"True," came the response, "true."

"So…when will they arrive?"

"Well, at the speed they're traveling, they should be here within three to four days."

"I see." He said softly. "Very well then."

It took that as its cue to leave. It stood up and slowly vanished into the shadows.

A/N: Yeah. Not exciting in the least. At least I opened up a new mystery (?) Tell me who you think it is.

And I'm really sorry if this is starting to bore you out…I just want to pace it nice and steady. That's all.

Thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Finally! I'm updating my story! Sorry to my two reviewers, Sherbet Mayhem and death-angel-hikari! Long tests and projects galore this month. On top of it all, my Science teacher's making us memorize the Periodic Table of Elements. I swear, she probably wants to torture us. I mean, how will knowing the symbols of Hydrogen, Vanadium, Molybdenum, Tungsten and Francium supposed to help me in the real world?

Ahem. Onto the story.

Oh, and thanks for the advice! Oh, and to Sherbet Mayhem, I'm only thirteen, not fifteen.

Chapter 3: Arrival 

Max groaned, sat up, and rubbed his eyes, his surroundings still blurry. He didn't get much sleep last night, and he was sure that garbage bags would soon show under his eyes later on.

Oh well.

He hung upside down and peeked into the bottom bunk. Kai was still sleeping peacefully, stiff and rigid as a log.

He had to smile a bit as he jumped off the top bunk and landed, silent as a cat, on the floor.

Max opened the door and slipped out, careful not to make a sound. He crept down the hallway. It was hard to tell what time it was since the sunrays weren't exactly in plain view.

They really needed to add some windows in this place.

Passing by the same hallway Kai had gotten lost in, Max had to grin. Even the great Kai Hiwatari could use some help sometime.

_Hmm…_Max thought, looking at all the doors that lined the hallway. It was his third day in this joint. Maybe it was time he explored the area.

_I hope I don't get lost, though, _he thought as he opened the door on his right, _in a compound this big, it'll probably take them a week to find my body._

* * *

The Chuunin waited impatiently as Naruto struggled to get dressed.

"You know," Shikamaru said, looking slightly amused as Naruto hopped around, trying to shove his foot into his sandal, "if you had only gotten up when we tried to wake you up, instead of insisting on three more minutes…"

"Three?" Sasuke asked, looking indifferent. "Or was that five? Eight, maybe?"

"…you wouldn't have to suffer the indignity of the whole group watching you dress up." Shikamaru finished.

"Which is really disturbing, you know." Sasuke added.

"If it's disturbing, don't watch then!" Naruto snapped.

"What if I want to?" Sasuke said, blowing the bangs off his face.

"Hurry up, Naruto!" Kurenai yelled. "You've wasted a minute and thirty-four seconds!"

"How'd you know that?" Asuma asked, pausing in his act of taking down the tent.

"I made it up," she said under her breath.

Finally, Naruto pushed through the crowd, muttering darkly.

"Alright," Kakashi said, "now that you're all dressed…"

"Finally." Sasuke muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

"…we'll eat for ten minutes, then be on our way. We're almost there. If we hurry, we can arrive in Tokyo this evening."

Everyone hurriedly grabbed some food, which were mostly _onigiri _and some fruit. Shikamaru, finishing ahead of the others, got up and wandered away from the group and into the shade of the trees.

Suddenly, he nearly lost balance, having trodden on something soft, and had to grab a tree trunk to prevent himself from falling flat on his face.

"Ouch! Get off!"

Shikamaru jumped as soon as he realized he had just stepped on Temari's hand.

She waved her hand vigorously. "Jeez," she muttered, "watch where you're going, will you?"

"Sorry." He said hurriedly. "I wasn't looking."

She looked down at her hand, determined not to meet his eyes. She was still embarrassed around him. Technically, she had won in the Chuunin finals, but everyone knew that Shikamaru would have won. If he hadn't forfeited, she would have been toast.

She hated it when people went easy on her.

She pretended to be interested in finding out whether her hand had any bruises or whatnot.

Suddenly, she felt soft, gentle hands hold hers.

"I'm really sorry," he said softly, "does it really hurt that much?"

"N-no," Temari stuttered, her cheeks turning a bright pink. Then, she started and pulled her hand away.

"How could it hurt when a skinny teen weighing a mere 100 pounds or so stepped on it?" she snapped, "Jeez." She turned and walked away, cheeks still red.

Numbly, Shikamaru watched her retreating back.

"Whoa," he said aloud, "did I just do that?"

His eyes widened, and he cringed. "I _did._"

* * *

"Sorry, Tyson," Rei said, looking apologetic, "but I already promised Salima a battle. In fact, she's calling me right now." He gestured over Tyson's shoulder. Tyson turned around to see the stunning, auburn-haired teen waving wildly.

"Heh. Catch you later." Rei said, patting him on the shoulder.

He sighed. He had wanted Kai to battle against him, but Kai was already in a heated match against Tala – a match that was attracting _a lot_ of bladers already.

"Hey, Tyson!" Max popped up, smiling his usual kitty cat grin. "Heard you were looking for a battle. I'm free."

Tyson seemed hesitant. Then, he grimaced, an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry, buddy, but I was kinda hoping for a real challenge. And you're…not what I'd call 'tough-to-beat'." He smiled apologetically. "Catch you later."

Max watched numbly at Tyson's retreating back. He felt like he had been slapped or punched or…or something. His words, although casual, stung a bit more than Tyson probably thought they did.

His cerulean gaze dropped to the floor as he chewed on his bottom lip.

_I shouldn't be angry, _he told himself firmly, _Tyson didn't mean it. I'm sure he didn't. He's probably just…tired. That's all._

Slowly, without him realizing it, his feet led him out of the battlegrounds and into the main hallway. Thick steel and wooden doors lined the walls, some open, showing either machines flashing different lights, or even more hallways lined with doors.

The sound of running feet met his ears, causing him to pause and look up. He squinted in the dimness of the hallway.

"Hello?" he called, turning a corner.

Immediately, a figure slammed into him full-force, causing the two of them to fall head over heels, entangled.

"Kyouju!" Max gasped out, "What's wrong?"

Kyouju seemed unable to speak, his chest heaving up and down as he gulped in air, perspiration running down his cheeks.

"Max," he gasped, still panting, "I…heard…something…it's…it's…terrible! Voltaire…the guards haven't been warned yet…terrorists…they…they…" Kyouju took a deep breath and tried again.

"Listen. I need to talk to Tyson, and fast. Do you know where he is?"

Immediately, Max's sapphire-blue eyes narrowed.

"If you want to talk to Mr. Insensitive, go ahead. Just speak carefully. That boy doesn't even have the brains the good Lord gave a hunk of beef jerky!"

He stood up and walked away in a huff. Kyouju watched him leave, utterly confused.

_What was that all about?_

* * *

Max strode up the steps, two at a time, his fists jammed in his pockets. He shouldn't have taken his anger out on Kyouju. Guess it had affected him more than he realized.

"Watch it, Mizuhara. You might shove someone off the stairs by accident."

Max looked up. Kai was looking at him, his expression slightly amused. "You wouldn't want _that, _would you?"

"Actually, if it was a certain someone, I wouldn't mind one bit." He answered angrily, shoving him aside. "Now get out of my way."

Kai's crimson eyes widened in shock as Max stomped up the steps, grumbling darkly.

_I have no idea what just happened, _Kai thought, following him, _but I have a feeling it's not going to up Max's cheerfulness level._

_If that's even possible._

"Okay, Mizuhara," Kai said, falling in step with him, "what happened to the cheerful kitty-cat smile and the sparkle in your eyes?"

"I don't want to talk about it, okay?" he said, "I just want to be left alone."

"Don't go stealing my catchphrases."

"Don't go acting like a good Samaritan. It doesn't suit you."

"What? I'm not allowed to try and find out what's wrong with my teammate?"

"Well, let me think…yes." he hissed. "Go away."

With another shove that nearly sent Kai toppling off the stairs, Max angrily stormed ahead of him. He reached the landing and disappeared from sight.

Kai had to stay on the stairs, gaping.

"That…was disturbing."

* * *

"Looks like I win." Tyson said triumphantly, picking up Dragoon.

Rai glared at him, holding a battered Galleon. "You got lucky." He grumbled.

"Heh. Keep dreaming." Tyson said, shoving Dragoon back in his pocket. "Oh, and while you're dreaming, I suggest you drop by the parts room and pick up a weight disk and attack ring." He grinned as he listened to his cursing. Dragoon had been wickedly brutal.

"Okay, Tyson, cards on the table."

Tyson yelped as he felt a hand tighten on his shoulder. He turned to find Kai's fiery glare burning his eyes.

"What? What did I do?" he said, trying to twist out of his grasp.

"He's your best friend. If anyone would know what made him act like…like…like _me, _it would be you."

"Wha-? Who are you talking about?" he demanded, still trying to remove his viselike grip.

"Max. That's who. Maybe you could tell me why he's suddenly muttering dark threats."

"I…you…how should I know?" he asked, throwing his hands up in the air. "I haven't seen him since this morning when I blew off his offer to battle against me. That's all I know."

"Hang on. Rewind. Blew off his offer to battle?"

"Yeah. That's what I said."

"How _exactly _did you 'blow off' his offer?"

"I just told him I wanted a _real _challenge. What of it?"

"You doofus!" Kai growled, clocking Tyson upside his head. "I don't blame him one bit! This isn't the first time your fat mouth hasn't done any damage."

"Look, I know Max better than you do," Tyson said angrily, "and I know he isn't going to change because of what I said. He's too optimistic. And cheerful. And…and…"

"While you're searching for synonyms for 'happy', I think you should apologize. He was obviously more affected by what you said than you think."

"Hey, guess what Kai," Tyson said sarcastically, "you're actually concerned about someone. Why don't you celebrate? Just let-me-go!" he managed to yank his shoulder away, then stomped off. Kai had completely destroyed his good mood.

Max and 'dark' did not go together. And there was no way he would ever act like Kai.

_What is Kai thinking?_

* * *

Neji ran up the tree, pushing aside a few stray branches that got in his way. Finally, he reached the top.

Balancing precariously on the topmost point of the branch, he activated his _kekkei genkai_ and looked around.

"Well?" Kurenai called. "What do you see?"

"I see smoke from far off. A couple more miles or so." He called back, squinting. It looked more like smog, actually. It was a thick grayish-black.

"We must be close," she said to the others. To Neji, she called, "Good. Come on down."

In seconds, he was back on the ground. "To be honest, it was thicker compared to any smoke I've ever seen." He said shortly. Might as well be honest.

"Tsunade-sama told me that the ships should be spewing ugly, thick fog. Those boats are for tourists – at least, those visiting the city from across the Naruto Strait - and they leave on an hourly schedule. We can afford to slow down a bit."

Neji nodded, not really caring.

Kurenai turned to the group. "Alright. We've made good time so far, so I guess you guys have earned another ten-minute break or so. Drink water, mold chakra, try to rest. We should be there an hour after sunset."

With a nod, the Chuunin walked off. "Don't stray too far." Kurenai called after them.

"Honestly," Asuma said to her, plopping down at the base of a tree, "the way you're acting, one would think you were some sort of elite leader. Try to ease up. They're only kids."

"They're no longer 'kids', Asuma," she said, shaking her head, "they're already thirteen. Some fourteen. That's old enough to act seriously."

"Not really," he said, closing his eyes, "if you ask me, they deserve at least a few more years of blissful, childish ignorance."

"No wonder you're like this now." She muttered under her breath.

He opened an eye and looked at her. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing." She said, starting to walk away.

"It didn't sound like 'nothing'," he said, grabbing her ankle, "it sounded like an insult."

"Asuma," she groaned, trying to yank her foot free.

"No, I'm serious. It really sounded like an insult." He said, playfully yanking her foot towards him. She slid off-balance and put her arms out to stop her fall.

"Would you let go?" she snapped, glaring at him. A mischievous smile lit up his features.

"Not until you admit it was an insult." He said, reaching up to her side. She tried to twist away, but failed miserably and was now lying flat on her back, her ankle twisted a bit painfully.

"Don't you dare," she warned, trying to crawl away. Asuma dared, and tickled her at the ribs.

She gave a quick laugh and tried to hide it. She tried to give him a warning look, but the smile destroyed it completely.

"Aha," Asuma said gleefully, "the warrior does have a weakness!"

"Asuma, no!" she yelled, half-laughing, as he continued to tickle her. She twisted and turned. But her kept a steady hold on her.

"Isn't this nice?" Kakashi said, walking in on them, "instead of biting off each other's heads, you're making each other laugh."

"Yeah, isn't it a wonderful change of pace?" Asuma said, grinning as he continued his relentless 'attack'.

Suddenly, a puff of smoke, a quick thud, and a few seconds later, Kurenai was smiling triumphantly as Asuma was trapped in a tree trunk.

_Genjutsu, _she thought, satisfied, _always handy._

"Hey, come on," he said, "can't you take a joke?"

Kakashi looked at him, then at Kurenai.

"I said it before, I'll say it again," he said, walking away as well, "both of you spend an _awful _lot of time together."

* * *

Hinata smiled contentedly, feeling the spray of the salty-fresh sea breeze whip her hair around. The roar of the rushing waves filled her ears, and for some reason, she wanted to shout with glee. This was her first time to ride a huge, motor-powered boat. It was awfully exciting.

"Hey," a voice said, catching her unawares, "you look like you're enjoying yourself."

She turned around, and blushed to find the all-too familiar cerulean eyes gazing at her, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"Um…yeah. It's…it's kind of refreshing," she said shyly, gesturing to nothing in particular.

"I could tell," he said, wandering past her and leaning on the railing. It was quite dark, and he stared at his reflection on the dark water. Like a blackened mirror. Glassy. Indiscernible shapes dancing on its surface. It was hard to see at all. It was like staring off into nothingness, where it was impossible to tell where the horizon ended and the water began.

"It is kind of peaceful, huh?" he said. "I mean, if you ignore the fact that the waves are kind of roaring."

She giggled slightly, then shoved her knuckles to her mouth. She was such a wimp around him.

"It's kind of hard to believe that, a couple of days ago, I was kind of trying to keep the tears in. Worrying about…stupid stuff." He said, blowing the bangs off his face. They unstuck from his wet forehead and immediately got caught in the winds sharp hold.

"I don't think there's such a thing as 'worrying about stupid stuff'," Hinata said softly, leaning on the railings as well, "I mean, if you're already worrying about it, how can it be stupid if it's worth worrying about?"

He looked at her, a strange look in his eyes. Then, his face broke into a grin. "You know, that makes perfect sense, to be honest."

She smiled. "Maybe…maybe you could tell me. It might help if you tell people about it."

"Yeah," he answered, staring off, "it might. It's just…I kinda decided to stop thinking about her. She's totally for Sasuke, and…I'd just be hurting myself if I kept thinking about her. But…it's hard, you know? To like someone for a long time, then decide to abandon, push away, forget, any feeling you've had for her. It's harder than it seems, and…"

He trailed off. He was babbling again. Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"Who is 'she'?" Hinata asked softly, concerned.

He looked at her, a strange look in his eyes. He thought it was obvious.

"Sakura-chan, of course."

"Oh."

Silence reigned once more. Hinata looked away, trying to bite it all in. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She had once again gotten so caught up in her stupid fantasies, reality decided to yank her back. _She_…Miss Bright-and-Smart-and-Beautiful…Miss Perfect…was his first love. No room in his heart for the shy, stuttering weakling in the corner. No, no room at all. He had given up on her, but he would never get over her.

Hopeless. As usual.

"Well…" she said after some time, "know what the best cure for a broken heart is?"

"Nope," he said, shaking his head, "what is it?"

"When I find out," she said, her voice growing softer, "I'll tell you."

He straightened up in shock, her eyes piercing his heart. He never knew.

She smiled sadly, then slowly turned back, making her way to the lower dock.

Hopeless.

* * *

"Ahh," Asuma said, breathing deeply, "do you smell that?"

"Yes," Kurenai said, shaking her head, "it's the smell of rotting fish. Let's get out of here." She turned around to face the young ninjas. "Okay, everyone, make sure to stick together. This is a new place and I don't want any of you getting lost. When I call your name, raise your hand, yell, or whatever. Just make sure I'll know you're here."

After the roll call, she nodded briskly, and turned around. "Let's go."

They left the docks and ventured into the noisy, polluted, bustling metropolis that was Tokyo. All around, people were going at a fast pace, checking tiny straps of leather and metal wrapped around their wrists, or else holding small, plastic boxes and moving their thumbs on it's surface. Metal carts without horses whizzed past at incredible speed. Loud, blasting noises met their ears.

"What the heck is this place?" Sasuke mumbled to Naruto. Naruto just shrugged. He was still in a state of shock. He had always found her attractive, but he thought she was scared of him, the way she always drew back, hugging herself, as if trying to protect her frail figure…

He barely heard Kakashi-sensei yell at them to hurry up. He followed everyone was they stepped onto a new part of land where those metal carts were speeding on.

He was still lost in thought.

"Naruto!"

The scream jerked him back to his senses. He noticed he was the only one on the middle of the road. He turned his head stiffly to the right.

Whizzing straight toward him was one of those metal carts. Light flashing from the front nearly blinded him, as he could only watch in terror as it drew closer to him at alarming speed.

A/N: You expected that, neh? A cliffhanger. Classic.

I think it's kinda obvious I won't kill him off. Too early, so don't hold your breath with worry. Hehe…

Sem breaks nearly over...kinds bummed and happy. Mood mix.


	4. Author's Note

I'm really sorry, but I'm not going to continue this story. 1) I just realized that I never really came up with a plot for it. 2) I don't really have the time.

SORRYSORRYSORRY!! 


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